The Climate Has Changed Yet Again – Here Is What You Should Know

From flooding to heatwaves, here is the round up of what climate change has made more likely this week.

In the United States, Phoenix, AZ, temperatures approached 50c with average measurements looking more likely to exceed norms. The heat has become so intense that authorities have launched ‘cooling stations’ to provide relief to citizens of the locality.

Salt Lake City temperatures have now become the highest ever recorded as confirmed by local government.

[5:43 PM] 107°F. We have now tied the highest temperature EVER recorded at Salt Lake City in any month of the year, in the last 147 years of records. It has only happened twice before: July 2002 and July 1960. #utwx pic.twitter.com/lySLjV748q

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) June 15, 2021

Meanwhile in the UK, we saw a months worth of rainfall in a single day in some places, with average rainfall records shattered. The aforementioned conditions and extreme precipitation is caused by increasing global average temperatures. In the case of rain, heat expands water, especially at sea, causing it to create extreme weather patterns such as storms, flooding and torrential weather.

MET office spokesperson Grahame Madge said: “In the South East, there will be rain every day for the next few days, and some places could see up to 80mm (3.2in) on Friday.”

“The heaviest rain will be in places from Hampshire up to Yorkshire, where we are quite likely to see intense rainfall which will clear away tonight.”

Elsewhere a study conducted by Charlotte Deschamps at the UCLovain, Belgium found that Bumblebees (Bombus Terrestris) will reconsider which flowers they visit.

In her study she says: “Nectar production per flower was lower in plants grown at 26 °C than in plants grown at 21 °C (2.67 ± 0.37 µL versus 4.15 ± 0.22 µL), and bumblebees visited flowers from plants grown at 26 °C four times less frequently than they visited those from plants grown at 21 °C”

She added: “These results show that warmer temperatures affect floral signals and reduce overall floral resources accessible to pollinators. Thus, the global increases in temperature caused by climate change could reduce plant pollination rates and reproductive success by reducing flower visitation.”

Finally, G7 leaders failed to agree any meaningful change on limiting carbon emissions, and furthermore omitted talk to assist developing nations who are suffering most from climate breakdown.

Developing countries are also doing the most to counter the effects of climate breakdown, though efforts are in vain if developed nations fail to fall in line with the measures employed by their counterparts.